The speed of the fastest ship is held by the hydroplane, Spirit
of Australia. Ken Warby drove this boat that set a world record.
The Spirit of Australia achieved a speed of 141.98 meters per
second. This record was achieved on October 8, 1978 in Australia.

Two of the four values I got were the same. The value found
in the Encyclopedia of World Sport is significantly different
from the other three values. The explanation for that is because
it listed the unofficial record of the highest speed. The two
sources I used showed the official record. The speed found in
Encarta was different from both the official and unofficial
record. I was not able to find out the reason for that.

I have chosen to go by the value I got from the Guinness
Book. I chose that one because people use that book everyday
to find out about records. It is a well-known book and although
the speed found in the Encyclopedia of World Sport is also accurate,
I decided to go with the official record.

In conclusion, the speed of the fastest ship is 141.98 m/s.
The value found in the Guinness Book is most accurate compared
to the other sources.

James Yu -- 1999

Bibliographic Entry

Result(w/surrounding text)

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Ken Warby. Electronic Mail. 9 August 1999 15:33:47 -0400.

"The actual official world water speed record is 317.60 mph or 511.11 kph. I built the boat and drove it. Check out kenwarby.com."